I sought desperately for a film at the megaplex for the weekend of October 26, but there was nothing interesting. I was desperate because I wanted to postpone attacking a mound of examinations that needed grading, but, alas, I found myself obligated to grade the nasty things.
I confess that I did have a brief respite, which also put me in the mood for Halloween. I pulled my DVD of Steven Spielberg’s “Poltergeist’ out of its crypt and thereby relieved my tensions. The film still has the power to make the viewer jump; the special effects have held up nicely.
I still remember how surprised I was when I first saw the film. I was so impressed with it that I talked my mother and sister into coming to my town and going to see the film the next day. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them jump at every wicked twist and turn, and I confess that I still jumped at some scenes.
“Poltergeist 2” was not bad, but I have never bothered to buy a DVD, and I certainly wouldn’t waste money on “Poltergeist 3.”
I am looking forward to “Dr. Sleep,” the long-awaited sequel to “The Shining.” The novel was very satisfying, and I hope the film is equally good. The trailers make it clear that there will be numerous allusions to Stanley Kubrick’s version of “The Shining.” That version was powerful, but the later version, a television miniseries, was more faithful to Stephen King’s novel. I will find my DVD of the Kubrick film and review it before I see “Dr. Sleep.”
By the way, the scores on those examinations were much too high. I will apologize to the students and will strive to come up with something a bit more challenging for the next round of examinations.